Razorback Roundup — Sept. 29

BY ANDRES FOCIL

RAZORBACK ROUNDUPSeptember 29, 2008MEN’S CROSS COUNTRYSenior Scott MacPherson was the top finisher for the Hogs as they earned a third-place finish at the Stanford Invitational on Saturday. No. 22 Arkansas, the lone SEC school in the race, scored 103 points for the bronze finish. The hosting No. 11 Stanford Cardinal won the team title with 39 points and No. 19 California earned runner-up honors with 87 points. MacPherson was the top finisher for the Razorbacks with a fourth-place finish overall. He clocked an 8,000-meter time of 24:23 and currently ranks second in the SEC. He paced two of his teammates to top-20 finishes (Lane Boyer, 10th and Eric Fernandez, 18th) and three of his teammates to top-35 finishes (Alex McClary, 32nd).WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRYNo. 11 Arkansas did not compete last week. Next up is the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 4.FOOTBALL (2-2)Colt McCoy threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as No. 7 Texas topped the Razorbacks 52-10 in Austin on Saturday. McCoy was 17-of-19 passing for 185 yards and ran nine times for 84 yards. UA’s Michael Smith ran 13 times for 42 yards and had two receptions for 38 yards. Senior defensive end Antwain Robinson returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown. He has four career TDs – two on fumble returns and two on interception returns. Both of Arkansas’ losses are to teams ranked in the top 10 – No. 7 Texas and then-No. 9 Alabama. The Razorbacks play host to Florida this week at 11:30 a.m. in a game televised by Raycom Sports.MEN’S GOLFNext up is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gridiron Golf Classic Oct. 6-7.WOMEN’S GOLFThe 18th-ranked Razorbacks played their way to 12th place against a tough field at the Mason Rudolph Championship. Senior Lucy Nunn paced the team with a five-over 221. Arkansas was ranked 18th heading into competition and faced 11 teams ranked higher. The linksters return to the course Oct. 10-12 at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate in Knoxville, Tenn.SOCCER (9-1, 209)The Razorbacks collected road wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State during the first weekend of SEC play to begin conference play 2-0 for the first time since 1995. The two victories also push Arkansas’ winning streak to a program-best eight games. In Friday’s SEC opener, the Razorbacks got goals from Kathleen Paulsen and Lindsay Patterson and a three-save shutout from Britni Williams to beat Ole Miss 2-0. It was the team’s first win over the Rebels since 1996, an 11-game stretch. Arkansas closed the weekend with a 1-0 win at Mississippi State. Beth McVean scored on a rebound at the 15:47 mark and Arkansas held on for the win, its seventh consecutive shutout victory. The Razorbacks have not allowed a goal since the second half of their third game of the season, a 4-3 win over Oral Roberts. With two shutouts, Williams lowers her goals against average to 0.41 on the season. Arkansas goes to Georgia and Tennessee this weekend. For games played Sept. 19 and 21, Patterson was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, the second Razorback to earn the honor this season (Kelly O’Connor).SOFTBALLArkansas continued its fall schedule with the Razorback Fall Festival Sept. 27 at Bogle Park. The Razorbacks hosted Pittsburg State and Tulsa. In the opener, Arkansas claimed a 6-1 win over PSU behind a two-hit, three-RBI effort from senior Kayla Johnson. In the circle, junior Teighynne Hulsey threw five innings and allowed one run. Against Tulsa, the Razorbacks dropped a 9-6 decision. Junior Sandra Smith smacked a two-run home run for the squad in the bottom of the third, but Arkansas couldn’t overcome a seven-run deficit. The fall schedule continues Oct. 5 as the Razorbacks play host to Crowder and Drury.MEN’S TENNISThe season debuts of Matt Hogan, Chris Nott and Blake Strode were strong at the HEB Baylor Invitational last weekend in Waco. Hogan lost in the second round of singles to the No.14 player in the country, Rice’s Bruno Rosa. Nott lost in the first round of the main draw to No. 44, Dominik Mueller of Baylor and made a run to the quarterfinals in the consolation singles draw before being eliminated by Anton Bobytskyi from Oklahoma State. Strode defeated No.35 Christoph Muller of Rice in straight sets on his way to a quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Denes Luckas from Baylor. In doubles, Hogan and Strode upset two nationally ranked teams before being knocked out in the doubles quarterfinals by the 30th-ranked team of Eduardo Salas and Roman Stoisavljevic of New Mexico State. They beat teams ranked No. 32 and No. 45 before being eliminated. Next weekend the team heads to Columbia, S.C., for the South Carolina Invitational, Oct. 3-5.WOMEN’S TENNISSophomore Anouk Tigu won her opening match of pre-qualifying at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. Tigu lost her second-round match while she and teammate Nanar Airapetian lost their lone doubles match of pre-qualifying. No. 46 Ela Kaluder will be competing in qualifying this week while No. 1 Aurelija Miseviciute is set for the main draw during the weekend. Miseviciute and Kaluder, ranked No. 10, will also be in the main draw of doubles.VOLLEYBALL (4-9, 1-2)Arkansas suffered a pair of SEC losses over the weekend with setbacks to No. 10 Florida and South Carolina, which is receiving votes in the national poll. Freshman Kelli Stipanovich posted a career-best 21 kills and tied her career-best with 11 digs against the Gamecocks. SEC action continues on the road this week at Georgia and LSU.OLYMPIC SPORT PRESS CONFERENCETuesday at 1 p.m. in Barnhill Arena interview room